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7/5/12

Some of you actually wanted Kyle Lowry as a Plan A and would have preferred not to go the Nash route at all. Let's cover some basics as to why. First people will point to his very friendly contract that pays him 5.7 Million for this upcoming season and 6.2 Million in the 13-14 season. At the going rate for point guards in the NBA that is almost bargain basement Walmart type good. Also he plays defense which is a rare gift for point guards these days. Something Jose Caldeon aside from clapping like a seal has never done. Steve Nash is also never winning the defensive player of the year award. So this is a fit for Coach Casey and is not going to require him to adjust. There is no question having Nash would have lead to some changes on both ends of the floor. Lowry is young and shown signs of being a rising star set to join a group that has a young core, that I would say only shows flashes of that in each case. That goes from Bargnani on down the line. But make no mistake about it to suggest Steve Nash even at 38 is not a far better and proven talent is absolutely ridiculous. Which is about as ridiculous as booing a guy that ultimately wanted to be close to his family. It is a sound basketball choice for the Raptors to acquire Lowry. The price they paid in a Lottery protected pick to some level maybe even as high as top 3 is not to high. Oh and they also moved Gary Forbes who did all that was asked of him in his time here but that wasn't really all that much.

All that said here is why Plan A was better. We all have friends that are not basketball fans right? If not clearly you need some more friends or a broader outlook on life. So take one of those friends and ask them who Steve Nash is? My guess is for the most part you will get a positive response. Now ask them who Kyle Lowry is? Answer is oh that was that character Will Smith played in Bad Boys? Good Movie but the sequel sucked. See that is your problem. Here is the thing that you are going to have to come to terms with. MLSE doesn't care about you. I mean they do but they care more about that friend of yours that isn't into hoops. They care about that other friend that only is into football and will only turn on a basketball game as 2nd or 3rd option. Steve Nash was a means to engaging all those people into the Raptors. Growing their brand as the people like to say these days. Steve Nash just showing up does that. In terms of Kyle Lowry he can show up and maybe if the Raptors are in the hunt at the all-star break those friends might ask you how the Raptors are doing. Better yet they say, I think I would like to go to a game with you.

See that is what this was about. Those same friends watching on the T.V Networks and listening on the Radio Stations that the new MLSE Owners own. Buy all those hats, T-shirts and jerseys and finally accomplishing the goal this Organization has had since the Grizzlies left for Memphis to be a national brand from coast to coast. That was worth 12 million dollars a year and by the way getting ultimately the better basketball player currently. Toronto is a market that is starved for a sports winner and something...anything to get behind. Steve Nash would have been the Pied Piper leading the masses to the ACC each night. Not since Vince Carter would the Raptors have been such a hot ticket. We are talking early V.C not the guy that moaned and got injured.

You can live in your basketball world and look at things from only that way. It is fine but in that world you also know that beating the Miami Heat for this franchise may never happen ultimately. Least not till Lebron James and Wade Retire leaving Bosh to fend for himself. Not everything is black and white. In MLSE it is more Red and Black and not the Raptors colours but their bottom line. This was one of those rare occasions where the stars aligned to give them the perfect business move and a risky but potentially spectacular basketball move.

Also to say Lowry is risk free is a bit of a lie. Let's start off with why he is available in the first place. He did not see eye to eye with Kevin Mchale. Casey has done a great job in year one in keeping his roster in line and managing issues that came up. See James Johnson being sent to the corner for a time out as an example of that. Still the relationship between a point guard and a head coach is the most stormy and most vital for a team to succeed. It can take years to develop. Maybe Lowry and Mchale was just a bad fit and this new chance with a new coach will work out. Just need to be aware that it could be an issue. Still you have to hand it to Colangelo for being prepared for failure even if you feel he totally messed up the Nash chase. Which you can make an argument that he did. Although even with that it would appear the Raptors and Canada were never going to trump Steve Nash's love for his children.

It is not that people who supported the idea of getting Steve Nash don't like Kyle Lowry. In some cases for the casual fan it is they don't even know who he is. They may say they do but they don't. They know what people are saying on Twitter in the media and in blogs like this. Some do know who he is and they were not against getting him, they just saw a grander plan for the Raptors landing a guy that could do a lot for their present and future in Steve Nash. It was a chance to do something dynamic and bold for the Raptors that would have been able to capture this entire country's attention. Kyle Lowery could lead the Raptors to the playoffs and still may not do that. He also could just be another young player that never truly gets to his ultimate potential that people expect. The Raptors have a lot of guys he will soon call teammates that fall in that description. There will be no parade to welcome Kyle Lowry to Toronto. There might well have been one for Steve Nash and let's face it Toronto is in bad need of a parade that involves a sports team even if it is only in the metaphorical sense.

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